Budapest Ferihegy 2 Airport, Friday 12:12 PMMichigan Oliver oddly enough was the last person I talked to before leaving Budapest. I guess I don’t know for sure seeing as I have a half hour yet to board, but I assume it’s a safe bet.
Szabi and I call him Michigan Oliver because I never saw him without his Michigan hat. Yea I thought he was from Michigan too, but then I found out he was from Hamburg and got really confused. He’s getting his masters over here in Budapest. We’ve had a few classes together and generally have complained a lot over pogacsa. Oliver works for Lufthansa in addition to studying. I just learned that he worked for a period in Russia and studied for a year in Idaho of all places. Also has a mean hook shot knows more about college basketball than I do. The world gets stranger everyday.
Right now I’m stuck at one of those dead ends of an airport where they send everyone that’s traveling on a really small plane. Since my flight to Vienna is only an hour long, this is what I have to endure. It’s been a hectic process to get here.
This morning I woke up at 8 am to Eric talking in my ear (via my cell phone). I had promised him a cycle this morning but we were out too late last night for that. He of course had to call me and remind of this fact as well. We each had to buy train tickets where I had some great news – my ticket from Zurich to Budapest only cost about $45 instead of the $100 I was thinking it was going to cost. What a great way to start the day. Got some Burger King to celebrate this with Eric and then gathered my things and left to go to the airport.
My flight was set to leave at 12:50 (so I thought) so I of course was pushing it a little close and got on the bus about 2 hrs before departure. About an hour and ten minutes to get there and a little for check in. On the bus with Eric I glanced at my itinerary to see what terminal I left from and noticed that the flight actually left Budapest at 11:55 and gets into Vienna at 12:50. Shit! So Eric and I ran off the bus, Eric gave me 5000 forint and we found a cab and off to the airport I went.
The cab driver and I actually had a great chat in Hungarian for the 20 minutes. I think through this whole process Eric was a bit more worried than I so perhaps hes to thank for me getting here. I think on the bus I was like, oh my plane leaves in an hour, I guess I had better get a cab.
My driver told me about how he had broken up with his girlfriend two weeks ago and they had a 9-yr old child. We joked about the weather, Belarus, and driving a stick. I also assuredly told him not to visit Los Angeles but stick with other more exciting places. Jozsef was a really nice guy and gave me his number for when I get back into the city. I also told him that I needed to get to the airport quickly but avoid being dangerous if possible. He succeeded.
I got through check in and security fine though the guy seemed to take offence that I would bother him by checking in. I got down to my gate and was texting Eric and Mary that I made it when Oliver shows up and takes a seat. Imagine that he’s flying to Hamburg out of this same dead end. He does work for Lufthansa and gets discounted flights so going home for the weekend in is no problem.
Well the trip hasn’t even begun yet and I’ve already got a page typed. I’m taking my computer with me so I’ll be able to keep a more detailed account of the trip – I hope. Perhaps when we’re driving through the Byelorussian countryside I’ll have some time to type a few words. I think my bus is here to take me to the plane – lets see what more drama I can stir up.
Szabi and I call him Michigan Oliver because I never saw him without his Michigan hat. Yea I thought he was from Michigan too, but then I found out he was from Hamburg and got really confused. He’s getting his masters over here in Budapest. We’ve had a few classes together and generally have complained a lot over pogacsa. Oliver works for Lufthansa in addition to studying. I just learned that he worked for a period in Russia and studied for a year in Idaho of all places. Also has a mean hook shot knows more about college basketball than I do. The world gets stranger everyday.
Right now I’m stuck at one of those dead ends of an airport where they send everyone that’s traveling on a really small plane. Since my flight to Vienna is only an hour long, this is what I have to endure. It’s been a hectic process to get here.
This morning I woke up at 8 am to Eric talking in my ear (via my cell phone). I had promised him a cycle this morning but we were out too late last night for that. He of course had to call me and remind of this fact as well. We each had to buy train tickets where I had some great news – my ticket from Zurich to Budapest only cost about $45 instead of the $100 I was thinking it was going to cost. What a great way to start the day. Got some Burger King to celebrate this with Eric and then gathered my things and left to go to the airport.
My flight was set to leave at 12:50 (so I thought) so I of course was pushing it a little close and got on the bus about 2 hrs before departure. About an hour and ten minutes to get there and a little for check in. On the bus with Eric I glanced at my itinerary to see what terminal I left from and noticed that the flight actually left Budapest at 11:55 and gets into Vienna at 12:50. Shit! So Eric and I ran off the bus, Eric gave me 5000 forint and we found a cab and off to the airport I went.
The cab driver and I actually had a great chat in Hungarian for the 20 minutes. I think through this whole process Eric was a bit more worried than I so perhaps hes to thank for me getting here. I think on the bus I was like, oh my plane leaves in an hour, I guess I had better get a cab.
My driver told me about how he had broken up with his girlfriend two weeks ago and they had a 9-yr old child. We joked about the weather, Belarus, and driving a stick. I also assuredly told him not to visit Los Angeles but stick with other more exciting places. Jozsef was a really nice guy and gave me his number for when I get back into the city. I also told him that I needed to get to the airport quickly but avoid being dangerous if possible. He succeeded.I got through check in and security fine though the guy seemed to take offence that I would bother him by checking in. I got down to my gate and was texting Eric and Mary that I made it when Oliver shows up and takes a seat. Imagine that he’s flying to Hamburg out of this same dead end. He does work for Lufthansa and gets discounted flights so going home for the weekend in is no problem.
Well the trip hasn’t even begun yet and I’ve already got a page typed. I’m taking my computer with me so I’ll be able to keep a more detailed account of the trip – I hope. Perhaps when we’re driving through the Byelorussian countryside I’ll have some time to type a few words. I think my bus is here to take me to the plane – lets see what more drama I can stir up.
No comments:
Post a Comment